One nurse's impact on a future generation of refugees

تم النشر: 21 أبريل 2016 12:54 CET

A chance encounter with a nurse as a child spurred Dorothy Muchaki to become a nurse herself. Many years later, she is now part of a Red Cross team providing critical healthcare to Burundi refugees in Tanzania. Photo: Niki Clark, American Red Cross

A massive influx of refugees from Burundi has overwhelmed the Nyagurusu camp in Tanzania. The Red Cross has responded, providing health care to more than 400 patients a day. Photo: Ana Romero, Spanish Red Cross

Children make up a good portion of the refugees who have fled electoral violence in Burundi. They now live in camps in Tanzania where 60 per cent of the population suffers from malaria. Photo: Niki Clark, American Red Cross

When Dorothy Muchaki was just 13 years old, her younger sister was severely burned in an accident. It was a moment that would forever change her perspective and help her realize her calling.

A health delegate with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Dorothy has worked in South Sudan, Liberia, and now, the Nyarugusu refugee camp in Tanzania. It is a challenging job to say the least. After her return to her home in Kenya following nine months in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak, her friends would cross the street when they saw her, just to avoid contact. But Dorothy would not have it any other way. She describes herself as a soldier going into battle.

“For me, humanitarian work is a calling. It’s a passion. Nobody wants to go out and do these things. But I can do it. There are people who are suffering and I want to alleviate their suffering, even it is something small.”

Dorothy looks back at her sister’s accident as the pivotal point. After being admitted to hospital following the accident, the nurses would not touch her sister. Her father ended up paying extra money just to have her dressings changed. Then they met one nurse who was special. All these years later, Dorothy’s voice quivers as she describes how the “good nurse” changed the course of her sister’s survival. Immediately, her sister, previously ignored, was treated tenderly and with care.

“Because of the good nurse, I decided that when I got the opportunity, I wanted to touch people too. Because the good nurse touched my sister, she survived and went home. I decided I wanted to do this. I wanted to help people who are suffering.”

In Nyarugusu, Dorothy is supporting the Tanzania Red Cross Society’s work of running Health Posts 4 and 5, two annexes created as backups to the main hospital, providing health care to some of the thousands of refugees who have fled electoral violence in neighbouring Burundi. Health Post 4 can now handle most outpatient services; only severe emergencies need to be transported elsewhere.

The massive influx of refugees has overwhelmed the Nyagurusu camp and its health facilities. More than 400 patients a day waited in line for hours to see the two available clinicians. It is Dorothy’s role to help the Tanzania Red Cross Society build its capacity and ensure all health standards are met. Though the work is demanding and the hours are long, for Dorothy, the rewards make it all worthwhile.

“When somebody comes back to you and says, ‘You’re helping us see a change,’ you feel like oh my God, yes. You struggle, but you touch people and then they keep in touch. You feel like you are part of them. It’s part of home.”

Coming in as an outsider, Dorothy says capacity building can be difficult as it often takes a while to gain people’s trust.

“The first weeks can be hard. I am extra hands, extra legs, extra eyes. Why are you pushing me away? We need to work together.”

But then, once her colleagues realize she is there to help, everything changes.

“I earn their trust and we start moving together,” she says. “What makes me happy is that it’s not me doing it, it’s them. They will continue making these strides even when I’m no longer here. We are one Red Cross.”

The good nurse would be proud.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched an Emergency Appeal of 5,245,197 Swiss francs to support the Tanzania Red Cross Society as it responds to this unfolding crisis. The Appeal aims to assist 250,000 refugees in the Nyarugusu and Mtendeli camps through the provision of basic health care, water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, shelter, disaster preparedness and risk reduction and capacity building. The Appeal is currently 51 per cent funded. Funding for the Tanzania Red Cross Society’s Health Posts #4 and #5 comes from a generous contribution by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO).